What Went Right?
They won games in bunches like they were the 96 Chicago Bulls. They had win streaks of 12, 13, 8, 17, and 9 games in just one season. They had the league's Most Valuable Player in Dirk Nowitzki. He averaged 24.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists every night. He also shot 50% from the field, 40% from deep, and 90% from the charity stripe. Josh Howard had his best season of his careerby averaging 18.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game (both career highs). Jason Terry also had a great year for Dallas. He averaged 16.7 points and 5.2 assists while only committing 1.9 turnovers per game. Devin Harris stepped in and became a starter. He started 61 games and averaged 10 points and 3.7 assists per game.

What Went Wrong?
Nothing went wrong except for the playoffs. They were completely intimidated by a team that barely won 41 games. The Mavericks had one of the best defensive teams in the league last year. They gave up only 92.8 points per game in the regular season but when faced with the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs, they gave up 105 points per playoff game. They couldn't contain Baron Davis. Stephen Jackson completely dominated the mental game against Dirk Nowitzki. Erick Dampier was completely useless because of the small lineups and the fact that he's Erick Dampier. This team didn't get to the Finals and that's the biggest thing that went wrong.

Off-Season Overview
There's not much that they need to do to "fix" a 67 wins team that didn't lose anybody of significance. They upgraded Greg Buckner by trading him for Trenton Hassell. They added Eddie Jones just because they could. And they replaced Austin Croshere with a younger version of himself, Nick Fazekas. This was already set for this coming season.
Players Added: Forward Nick Fazekas (Draft), Small Forward Reyshawn Terry (Draft), Shooting Guard Renaldas Seibutis (Draft), Power Forward Brandon Bass (Free Agent, New Orleans), Shooting Guard Eddie Jones (Free Agent, Miami), Small Forward Trenton Hassell (Trade, Minnesota)
Players Lost: Forward Austin Croshere (Free Agent, Golden State), Small Forward Greg Buckner (Trade, Minnesota), Power Forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu (Waived)

Phil Barnett's Impact Players-
The core of this Mavericks team should have won a title in 2006 but that trophy was snatched out of their hands by Dwayne Wade. They should have played in the Finals in 2007, but were booted out of post season play by Golden State. The pressure is on Avery Johnson and the leagues Most Valuable Player to produce a title this season.

Breakout Player: Devin Harris is entering his fourth NBA season and has improved his scoring and assist totals each year since his first. Last season he moved into a starting role and is expected to play more minutes per game than last year. Avery Johnson has all the confidence that Harris will be able to put up quality point guard numbers, and with his speed, he should be able to with increased minutes

Disappointing Player: Erick Dampier meant more to this team last year than people realize, but he will miss some time early in the season because of off-season shoulder surgery. If Dampier doesn’t come back and grab rebounds and alter shots, you could see a significant drop in the Mavericks win total this season.

FantasyInsideronline.com Fantasy Sleeper
DeSagana Diop, Center- Diop isn’t going to set the world on fire. He isn’t going to average a double double or lead the league in blocks. But if given time on the floor, he will anchor your defense and rebound at a solid rate. Per 40 minutes played last year, Diop rebounded at an average of 11.8 per game and blocked shots at 3.1 per game. Diop at this point gives the Mavericks much better versatility with their lineup because he runs the floor well for a big man and is able to play against bigger players. His minutes per game drastically went up by 5 minutes per game in the playoffs last season while Damp’s minutes fell by 70%. It’s a contract year for Diop now and if the Mavericks want to be able to lead by their defense, they’ll keep favoring Diop in minutes.

Best-Case Scenario
The best case scenario is that they repeat last season exactly. Getting around 65 wins while Dirk, Howard, and Harris all have really good seasons. They get to the playoffs and finish off the first round in 4 games like they would have hoped to do last season. They will avoid facing Phoenix or San Antonio in the second round and beat whichever unfortunate 4th seed has to play them. They win a tough 7 games series against the Spurs or Suns and go on to beat whatever Eastern team makes it to the Finals.

Worst Case Scenario
The worst scenario that could happen is the same as last season too. If they go through the regular season dominating every team and then enter the first round of the playoffs against a team that doesn't fear them. They end up facing a Memphis squad or the same Warriors squad that isn't scared to play the #1 seed and ends up running this team out of the gym. Anything less than the NBA Finals is a failure for Dallas.

Talkhoops.net Prediction- 1st in Division, 2nd in West
I think the Mavs will be the best regular season team for the second year in a row. I think that Dirk Nowitzki is going to bounce back from his terrible playoffs last year and have another MVP caliber season. He will be able to lead Josh Howard and company to another season of over 60 wins. I think they'll get past whoever they face in the first round. But when they face the second round of the playoffs. But they'll face the Spurs in the second round of the playoffs and lose a tough 7 games series against them. No title for Mark Cuban this year.